Type-writing machine



UNITED STATES lPATENT OFFICE.

FRANK V. BARTLETT, OF ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA.

TYPE-WRITI NG MACHIN E.

`SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 501,909, dated Julyv 25, 1893.

Application filed May 4, 1893. Serial No. 472,954. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANK V. BAETLETT, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Paul, in the county of Ramsey and Statev of Minnesota., have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Type-Writing Machines; and Ido hereby declare thefollowing to bea full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art'to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The invention relates more especially to that class of type-writing machines wherein a sliding carriage is fed transversely across the machine by a step-by-step feeding mechanism which is worked by the operator striking a spacing key or lever on the key-board, as in the Remington, caligraph, and other Well known machines; and the invention has for its object to better adapt these machines for tabular work, such as making out bills, statements, schedules, accounts, or any other class of work requiring uneven or unusual spacing.

Type-Writer operators experience much annoyance and difficulty in doing this kind of work neatly and accurately. This is particularly the case in column work, where constant care and attention are required in selecting the proper points at which it is desired to begin the writing of the Words or figures. Moreover, the movement of the carriage, being ,effected by the usual step-by-step feeding mechanism, is necessarily very slow, andconsiderable time is Wasted in Working the spacing key to shift the carriage from one column or point to the next.

The present invention consists in the improved feed or spacing rack hereinafter described and illustrated and more particularly Apointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is a perspective view of the improved feed rack detached. Fig. 2 is a rear view of a portion of the feeding mechanism of a Remington machine, showing the carriage, the feed rack, and the spacing dog in their proper .relative positions. Fig. 3 is a side view of a duplex, reversible rack made in accordance with my invention, and Fig. 4 is a diagram illustrating one kind of Work which may be done by using the rack.

Referring to the several views, 1 denotes a portion of the frame of a Remington machine. 2 is the carriage, mounted as usual on rollers 7 and4 arranged to travel on therail 3. 4 denotes the guide or holder for the feeding rack 5, this holder being connected to the carriage so that both parts move together. The rack 5 is fastened in the holder by means of screws 8 tapped into holes in the Walls of the holder and passing through perforations in the rack near its ends. 6 is a feed dog forming part of the spacing mechanism, and connected and arranged to be operated by the spacing key on the keyboard. These parts and their relative arrangement and operation are the same as in the well known Remington machine. They form no part of the preseni invention, and may if desired be arranged, constructed and connected as in the Caligraph machine, or indeed in any other preferred manner.

It will be understood that the machine comprises, in addition to the parts herein shown, some mechanism for automatically moving the carriage across the frame, and a step-bystep spacing or feeding mechanism. I have not deemed it necessary7 to illustrate such eX- tra parts herein, as the invention is quite independent of any particular kind of mechanism for these purposes, and some sort of such mechanism is embodied in every machine known at the present time.

The feeding rack 5, according to my present invention, is not formed as heretofore with a continuous line of teeth, but is constructed, as represented in Figs. l and 3,With teeth arranged in groups or sets, the number of teeth in each set varying according to the kind of work to be done.

With-a rack formed, as heretofore, it is impossible for the machine to skip automatically from one point on the line of writing to another, and when it is desired to pass over a plain space without writing, it is necessary for the operator to work the spacing key as many times as therelwould be letters inithe space were thewriting continuous. This is Very tedious and annoying, and to partially meet this difliculty some makers provide their IOO machines with a separate hand device for releasing the carriage from the spacing mechanism. This arrangement is, however, objecspacing dog, and, so far as the scale on the machine frame is necessary to indicate where to'begin and leave off Writing, it may be entirely dispensed with.

Referring to Figs. lland 3, 9 indicates the I groups or sets of teeth. According to my invention the spacing bars are constructed for special work, and the teeth are arranged in groups to suit the peculiar spacing required in the particular Work for which the machine is intended. The rack shown in Fig. l is spaced with a View to making out bills or schedules of eXtra parts of machines in a large manufacturing concern, a specimen of which work is indicated in Fig. 4. The invention is not, however, limited to any particular kind of spacing or arrangement of the groups of teeth, and the same may be varied almost indenitely so long as the characteristic feature of permitting the machine to skip auto-- matically over the spaces from one point to another is preserved.

Fig. 3 of the drawings represents a duplex form of rack, the teeth ou opposite edges being spaced for different kinds of work, thus greatly enhancing the usefulness of the device. It will be understood of course that one edge of the racky may be spaced in the usual manner for continuous Work, or both may have their teeth arranged in groups after the manner of my invention. With one of these )duplex racks the machine may be changed in a few moments from one sort of work to another, by simply rcmovin g the rack, reversing it, and replacing it in the holder.

The duplex form of rack shown in Fig. 3 is reversible, and requires to be removed from the machine and replaced in order to change the machine from one kind of Work to another. I do not, however, desire to be limited to a reversible rack, as the duplex character of the same` may be obtained by various modifications of the construction of the same Without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. For example, instead of forming thelines of teeth on opposite edges of the rack, I may increase the Width of the rack and form a plurality of lines of teeth parallel with one another on the same edge, and arrangethe rack to be bodily shifted laterally so as to bring any desired line of teeth into the path of the feed dog; or, if preferred, mechanism may be provided for shifting the dog across the lines of the teeth, instead of making the rack itself adjustable.

Having thus described my invention, what VI claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patl. A type-writer feeding rack for use in tabular or column Work, said rack having its teeth formed in sets or groups alternating with plain spaces, the latter corresponding to the spaces between the columns or rows of figures or other characters on the sheet; substantially as described.

2. A type-writer feeding rack for use in tabular or ycolumn work, said rack having teeth or serrations formed in sets or groups only at points corresponding with the rows or columns of figures or other characters on the sheet; substantially as described.

3. A reversible feeding rack for type-'Writing machines, said rack having teeth on one edge uniformly spaced for continuous and even line-Writing, the opposite edge of the rackbeing provided with groups or sets of teeth alternating with plain spaces, for column or tabular Work; substantially as described.

4. In a type-Writing machine, the combination of the carriage, mechanism for' moving the same, the feed dog, and a feeding rack, the latter having teeth formed in sets or groups leaving the rack plain at intervals, whereby when the dog engages the teeth the carriage will be moved with a regular stepby-step motion, and when the dog reaches the plain portions of the rack the carriage will be automatically shifted to Va point where the dog encounters the next set of teeth; substantially as described.

5. In a type-writing machine, the combina- TOO tion of the carriage, mechanism for moving i the same, the feed-dog, and a duplex feeding rack, the latter having two or more lines of teeth, oneline of teeth being uniformlyspaced, and the remaining line or lines having their teeth formed in sets or groups alternating with plain untoothed portions, whereby the machine is adapted for continuous and even line writing, or for column or tabular work, substantially as described.

6. A reversible feeding rack for type-writing machines, said rack being provided with teeth on both edges, those on oneedge being arranged in groups or sets alternating with plain spaces, for columnv or tabular work, and those on the other edge being differently ar ranged, for use in Work of a different character; substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

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